Norberg, Craig and Lupien continue as top drivers in North America

The next two months could see a shakeup in the order at the top of the 2018 eKartingNews.com TaG Driver Rankings Powered by Bell Racing USA. This new release of the standings has the top seven unchanged, however, a number of events are on the horizon that can either improve drivers scores, or drop their totals should they not match or come close to repeating the results they garnered in 2017.

Ryan Norberg (PSL / Birel ART) is no stranger to matching a result, as the two-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion is now a three-time SpringNationals winner in three consecutive years. Norberg came up short of winning at the SummerNationals last year, but did what he needed to secure the title. On his heals in the Driver Rankings is Jake Craig (RPM / Tony Kart), the driver Norberg edged for the SKUSA title by just four points. Craig is the current championship leader heading into New Castle in August, vying to become the second two-time champion. Still climbing up the list, Canadian Samuel Lupien (RPG / Kosmic) could just be the spoiler in the party. Sitting third in the title chase, Lupien is coming off a big victory at the US Open / Rotax Grand Nationals this past weekend, which will be factored into the Driver Rankings next month.

Alex Bertagnoli and Brandon Jarsocrak nearly shadow each other in terms of total races and score. Bertagnoli (FMS / Kart Republic) has gone winless in 2018 at the big events, but gathered in podium finishes to keep himself inside the top-five. Jarsocrak doubled up at the recent United States Pro Kart Series to take the championship lead heading into the finale later this month, improving his score but not surpassing the mark set by Bertagnoli. The KartSport North America / Kart Republic driver also scored a second straight victory this weekend’s Battle at the Brickyard, which will be added to the Driver Rankings next month.

Dante Yu is expected to improve his score as well next month, picking up a recent victory at the California ProKart Challenge. The CompKart driver is on a roll, earning his first career SKUSA Pro Tour victory at the SpringNationals, and could easily be inside the top-five next month. Nicky Hays (PGR / Ricciardo) remains in seventh, in jeopardy of not repeating as California ProKart Challenge for a third straight year. His focus is moving to open wheel racing, however, still making starts at big karting events.

Falling out of the top-10 is Canadian Ryan MacDermid (PSL / Birel ART), losing last year’s US Open result and dropping to 11th. This has promoted Brit Callum Bradshaw (CRG Nordam) to eighth, WinterNationals winner Christian Brooks (CRG Nordam) to ninth, and Billy Musgrave into tenth. Musgrave holds the #1 spot in the Stock Honda Driver Rankings, making him the first driver to hold a spot in the top-10 of both categories for the first time in many years, putting him in with the likes of Kyle Wiegand and David Jurca.

The ‘On the Move’ this month for TaG is Franklin Motorsports / Merlin USA driver Austin Schaff, up 89 spots to #33. The Senior rookie picked up his first victory of 2018 at the Route 66 Sprint Series event at Road America, coming off runner-up results to Jarsocrak at the USPKS weekend in Mooresville, North Carolina. Schaff is the next in line under the Team FMS tent that have come up from Cadet, Junior and Senior aboard the Merlin brand, ready to follow in the footsteps of Kalish, Lemke, and Bertagnoli.

Upcoming EKN TaG Driver Rankings Schedule

Date

Series

Track

Location

Rank

7/7

SKUSA California ProKart Challenge #4

Santa Maria Kart Track

Santa Maria, CA

9

7/8

Battle at the Brickyard

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Speedway, IN

8

7/8

Rok the Rockies #3

SBR Motorsports Park

Calhan, CO

8

7/8

Sanzaru Games Karting Championship #5

Simraceway Performance Karting Center

Sonoma, CA

8

7/8

US Rotax Grand Nationals

New Jersey Motorsports Park

Millville, NJ

9

7/14

Northwest Gold Cup #7

SKRA

Spokane, WA

8

7/14

WKA Manufacturers Cup Series #7

Concept Haulers Motor Speedway

Norway, IL

8.5

7/15

Los Angeles Karting Championship #6

CalSpeed Karting Center

Fontana, CA

8

7/15

Northwest Gold Cup #8

SKRA

Spokane, WA

8

7/15

WKA Manufacturers Cup Series #8

Concept Haulers Motor Speedway

Norway, IL

8.5

7/21

Route 66 Sprint Series #5

Michiana Raceway Park

South Bend, IN

8

7/21

SKUSA Texas ProKart Challenge #4

Amarillo Kart Circuit

Amarillo, TX

8.5

7/22

Colorado Karting Tour #5

IMI Motorsports Complex

Dacono, CO

8

7/22

Rok Cup USA OVRP Festival

Oakland Valley Raceway Park

Cuddebackville, NY

8

7/22

Route 66 Sprint Series #6

Michiana Raceway Park

South Bend, IN

8

7/22

SKUSA Texas ProKart Challenge #5

Amarillo Kart Circuit

Amarillo, TX

8.5

7/28

United States Pro Kart Series #5

New Castle Motorsports Park

New Castle, IN

9

7/29

Can-Am Karting Challenge #2

Greg Moore Raceway

Chilliwack, BC

8.5

7/29

United States Pro Kart Series #6

New Castle Motorsports Park

New Castle, IN

9

8/4

Gearup Challenge F-Series #5

F1 Boston

East Bridgewater, MA

8

8/4

Northwest Gold Cup #9

Sumas International Motorsports Academy

Sumas, WA

8

8/5

Colorado Karting Tour #6

SBR Motorsports Park

Calhan, CO

8

8/5

Northwest Gold Cup #10

Sumas International Motorsports Academy

Sumas, WA

8

8/5

Sanzaru Games Karting Championship #6

Simraceway Performance Karting Center

Sonoma, CA

8

(Photo: EKN)

TaG #1 – Ryan Norberg
Orlando, Florida

The bar set still belongs to two-time SKUSA Pro Tour champion Ryan Norberg. The loss of the runner-up finish at the US Rotax Grand Nationals from last year only drops him 50 points in the total, still holding a 41-point advantage over Craig. Norberg (PSL / Birel ART) is coming off two runner-up finishes at the Can-Am Karting Challenge, placing second to hometown hero Luke Selliken both days. With no racing at the US Open this past weekend, Norberg needs to come out of July and August with similar or better results to remain at the top of the EKN Driver Rankings.

It has been nearly four years since Jake Craig won the SKUSA Pro Tour title. Clinching it with a stellar performance through the heat races at the SKUSA SuperNationals, Craig was taken out in the main event on the opening circuit. While the win eluded him, Craig left a champion and grabbed redemption in 2016 when he scored victory at the SuperNats. With the SuperNationals set to return to the Rio, the RPM / Tony Kart driver could return to Vegas as a champion for the second time depending on how things unfold at the SummerNationals.

It has been a stellar 18 months for Canadian Samuel Lupien. Since joining the Rolison Performance Group operation, Lupien has become a threat at each and every race he attends. Samuel ran away with the victory at this weekend’s US Open / Rotax Grand Nationals in New Jersey, which should help his total next month. Add in the fact that he was among those fighting for the title chase at the California ProKart Challenge until missing this weekend’s race at Santa Maria, and sitting third in the SKUSA Pro Tour standings, this could be Lupien’s best season yet.

EKN Driver Rankings Calculation ProcessThe EKN Driver Rankings are calculated using a driver’s best finishes in major North American races. Assembled using events from the previous 12 months from the current date, we use a driver’s best seven finishes in TaG and Stock Honda to determine their overall current point total. With each new release, results posted from more than one year ago are discarded. To deliver our ranking list, we tabulate the results of all the national programs and selected regional programs. We have included the results for the major one-off events such as the SKUSA SuperNationals, the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals, the Rock Island Grand Prix, and the Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix.

Each race is initially weighted based on the prestige and history of the event or series with a score of ten (10) being the highest attainable base ranking. For 2018, the SKUSA SuperNationals will receive a score of 10 in its initial weighting in the TaG and Stock Honda categories. A base ranking of 9.5 is set for the SKUSA Pro Tour, while a base ranking of 9 goes to the SKUSA Winter Series, United States Pro Kart Series, Florida Winter Tour, Challenge of the Americas, Rok the Rio, Rock Island Grand Prix, US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals, and California ProKart Challenge. Other national and regional program races were given a base ranking of either 8.5 or 8.0.

The EKN staff reserves the right to adjust the rankings of each event throughout the year. A minimum entry total for any event to be considered for the Driver Rankings program is five (5). If an event does not have at least five (5) drivers starting the race, those results will not be tabulated toward the Driver Rankings.

Added to these initial rankings are two variables that help confirm the true importance of an event to the ranking process – field size and field strength. A percentage of one weighting point is added for the size of the field, while the number of existing top 50 drivers entered offers another full point or fraction of a point. The sum of these numbers becomes the overall ranking for any race.

Following a race, drivers receive points based on their finishing positions with 100 points earned for a win. Each subsequent position drops by one point with 99 points given to the second-place driver and so on throughout the field. These points are then multiplied by the overall ranking to produce a driver’s final point total from each event. Using a driver’s best seven races, we calculate each driver’s overall score and subsequent ranking.